Wednesday, July 21, 2010

07/21/2010
Less than a month after his inauguration, President Noynoy Aquino, whose platform stood for upright leadership, remains hard put to fill positions in government with people who are not only qualified, but are also credible and trustworthy.

These are the unspoken qualifications Filipinos are looking for in these appointed officials. The search, however, is not that easy. Perhaps President Aquino’s search committee imagines itself looking for that needle in a haystack — or just a handful out of 90 million people.

A president would look, naturally, toward individuals whom he knows or knows about for important responsibilities. But now that people are wary about kamag-anaks (relatives) in power (and perhaps kapamilyas, kapusos and kapatids, too!), the search is made doubly difficult. And, of course, there is that call for transparency in government that the Aquino administration promised to heed.

Just look at how much reaction the Abads in government are getting. With Butch Abad (Aquino’s campaign manager) now the Budget secretary, his wife the vice chairman of the House Appropriations Committee (which scrutinizes the budget), their daughter Julia the head of the president’s management staff (which handles the spending of the President’s Social Fund, otherwise known as the president’s pork barrel), and their son Luis the chief of staff to the Finance Secretary, critics are in a bit of an uproar over what some deem as a question of delicadeza..... MORE